State To Open Center For Migrant Blueberry Farmers

COLUMBIA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Department of Labor is joining with community service organizations to open a service center for migrant farm workers in Washington County.

The Blueberry Rakers’ Center will open Aug. 4 and offer migrant farm workers and their families legal advice, medical care access, educational resources, and guidance in seeking other services. The center will be open Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, Aug. 11 to Aug. 15, and Aug. 18 and Aug. 19. The Maine Migrant Health Program will open a food pantry on the site on Aug. 3.

The center will be located on Epping Road in Columbia next to Columbia Town Hall.

Organizers say the Rakers’ Center opens every year at the height of blueberry picking season and services more than 1,000 migrant and seasonal farm workers.